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Heavenly Bamboo
Nandina domestica
ナンテン
An evergreen shrub native to Japan and China. Considered auspicious due to a Japanese wordplay meaning 'to turn away misfortune,' it is widely planted in gardens and temple grounds. The red berries are beautiful in winter, and the foliage turns red in autumn to winter.
Identification Points
- ✓Leaves bipinnate to tripinnate with ovate-lanceolate leaflets
- ✓Red spherical fruits borne in clusters in winter
- ✓Stems erect with little branching
Habitat
Gardens, temple and shrine grounds, and forest edges (naturalized)
Season
June–July (flowers), October–February (fruit)
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Compound
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf shape
Needle
Growth form
Shrub
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen
Petal count
4 petals
Petal fusion
Free
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Ovary position
Superior
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite
Stamen count
3-4
Phylogenetic Positionメギ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Basal eudicots > Ranunculales > Berberidaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (approx. 70 million years ago)
Evolution Notes
Berberidaceae belongs to Ranunculales; chemical defense via alkaloids against insects and herbivores is a hallmark of its evolution.
View on evolution timeline →Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification